This past Sunday, heavily armed "Black Beret" commandos patrolled the Chicharrones neighborhood in Santiago de Cuba following a pot-banging protest led by local youth, as reported by journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
Eyewitnesses report that the arrival of these forces, armed with long rifles, aimed to intimidate demonstrators who were making noise by banging pots from both the streets and their homes.
Nighttime footage captured from a high vantage point reveals several uniformed individuals in the streets, with at least one appearing to hold a long weapon.
Continuing Protests in Santiago de Cuba
The Chicharrones protest adds to a series of mass pot-banging demonstrations that rattled Santiago de Cuba on June 18. Residents from neighborhoods like Sueño, Santa Bárbara, Antonio Maceo, Veguita de Galo, Mármol, and Altamira took to the streets to voice their discontent over ongoing power outages.
By June 19, the protests had escalated closer to the provincial headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba in Santiago, marking a significant rise in civil unrest.
Root Causes of the Unrest
The primary catalyst for the protests is the severe energy crisis, characterized by power cuts lasting over 22 hours in some areas. This situation has been exacerbated by the malfunction of the Antonio Guiteras Thermal Power Plant, contributing to a national power shortage that reached approximately 2,000 MW by June 2026.
Since March of this year, various neighborhoods in the city—including Sueño, Micro 9, Micro 3, El Salao, Los Pinos, Portuondo, Centro Histórico, Altamira, and Chicharrones—have witnessed repeated protests triggered by these prolonged outages.
Historical Context of Repression
On May 30 and 31, Santiago de Cuba documented its first deployment of "Black Berets" in 2026, alongside tire burnings in the Los Pinos neighborhood.
Popularly known as "Black Berets," the Special National Brigade (BEN) is a special forces unit under the Ministry of the Interior (MININT). Although its official mission is counterterrorism, the regime frequently employs it to quash protests.
The BEN's repressive actions were notably documented during the July 11, 2021 demonstrations, where its agents were recorded assaulting and arresting citizens across various cities in Cuba.
As a consequence of these abuses, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the brigade in July 2021.
Mayeta Labrada highlighted that "the protests emerge amid widespread dissatisfaction over prolonged blackouts and the dire conditions facing the population, as reports of security force deployments continue to surface throughout the city."
The presence of the BEN with long guns in Chicharrones this Sunday marks a new level of repressive response by the regime to the persistent public discontent in Santiago de Cuba.
Understanding the Situation in Santiago de Cuba
What triggered the protests in Santiago de Cuba?
The protests were primarily triggered by severe energy shortages, with electricity cuts lasting over 22 hours in some neighborhoods, exacerbated by the failure of the Antonio Guiteras Thermal Power Plant.
Who are the "Black Berets" and what is their role?
The "Black Berets" is the colloquial name for the Special National Brigade (BEN), a unit under the Ministry of the Interior tasked officially with counterterrorism, but often used by the regime to suppress protests.
How has the international community responded to the repression in Cuba?
In response to the documented abuses by the BEN during the July 11, 2021 protests, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the brigade in July 2021.